To make up for an imbalance in Title IX equivilancy opportunities, UC Davis Athletics has announced four options for potential sport additions, including beach volleyball.
An athletics working group announced its proposed options in a Feb. 16 press release based on the criteria of number of participation opportunities, philanthropic support, competition opportunity and conference affiliation.
In order to level up the sport participation opportunity with the female/male undergraduate ratio on campus, the school needs to add “as many as 40 to 45 new participation opportunities for female student-athletes.”
The Aggies could chose to add one sport with a large squad size, but the school also is looking at the option of adding two smaller teams as well.
The four options brought forward for further consideration are:
- Beach volleyball and rugby
- Equestrian
- Fencing and rugby
- Rowing
Beach volleyball is already a sponsored sport in the Big West Conference, and would thus give the team an easier task of scheduling. The Aggies indoor volleyball team went 16-14 in 2017, including an 8-8 mark in Big West play.
Rowing was last a varsity sport at UC Davis in 2010.
There are still many more steps ahead before a sport or two are added. The working group is “reviewing detailed information related to costs and donor support” for the proposed options. This round of action will include the athletics fundraising staff reaching out to potential donors to gage their interest in supporting these teams to attempt to defray startup costs and on-going program expenses. Donors are being asked to make binding five-year pledges to financially support their preferred teams if they are selected for sponsorship.
Potential donors are asked to contact assistant athletics director for development Rob Norris ([email protected]) by March 9, 2018.
A decision is said to be expected by the end of the winter quarter.
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